It Was in Longridge
by Snowsparx
Summary: AU fic. The city of Longridge resides in a forest of unease. Two rival tribes demand a tribute from them every month, or the town faces war. When Prince Phobos takes power, he begins to change the rules around. Can the W.i.t.c.h. gang and their friends stop the madness and put Elyon in her rightful place on the throne? Or is it already too late?


Welcome to my second fanfiction for W.i.t.c.h.! I had this idea a little while ago, so why not roll with it? It's an alternate universe fanfiction. Sort of Hunger Games ish, but less blood and killing. ._.

This fanfiction contains the pairings: Will/Matt Irma/Martin Taranee/Nigel Cornelia/Caleb Hay Lin/Eric and maybe more to come. Just to clarify things, most of the characters are 16-18 years old.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h. or anything related to W.i.t.c.h.

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The city of Longridge was quite a sight to the outsiders who visited its walls less than frequently. Its tall concrete houses were mostly clean on the outside, with a lush garden blooming on almost every rooftop. It's looming castle was made of pure white marble, with magnificent statues of angels adorning the ledges and corners of the fortress. And one could hardly miss the steel walls surrounding the complex, covered in barbed wire and pointed spikes.

For although the city was surrounded by a large forest with no other towns nearby, the forest itself held many dangers. To the eastern cliffs a fierce tribe of werewolves prowled and to the western caves a tribe of vampires roamed freely at night. Both groups, though small compared to the number of townspeople, often warred over territory and any humans that fell prey to them. After many years of conflict, and the deaths of many innocent townsfolk, the Queen of Longridge settled the dispute by promising both groups a single tribute every other month. For the first month the vampires would be able to choose between a male or female tribute, and the next month the werewolves would choose, then the vampires, and so on and so on. The tributes were typically between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, but on the rare occasion an older member of the community would volunteer for a younger one.

After the Queen who made the pact with the two tribes died, her son Phobos came into power. Phobos was a cruel Prince and decided that the tributary system was too peaceful. He then told both tribes that there would be a change in the system- the two groups would have to fight over the tributes instead of being able to choose one peacefully. The tributes would be released in a spot equally apart from both territories and then forced to try and make it back to the safety of the city before either tribe caught them. Most of time the two tributes would be taken in by the same tribe, but on rare occasions large battles would occur in which both tribes would suffer losses, as well as the tributes being killed. And on even rarer occasions, both tributes would make it back to the city unharmed.

The only hope the townspeople have is that one day, Princess Elyon will be able to take her rightful place on the throne and put an end to her brothers treacheries. For now, at the age of seventeen, she and her friends are about to be thrown into the horrifying world that her brother has created...

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"Go Elyon, you can do it!"

"Run faster Corny, she's gaining on you!"

"Woo! There goes Will! Watch them go!" On a racetrack outside the city's school, the W.i.t.c.h. girls along with Matt, Eric, Martin and some castle guards were having a friendly race. The girls were having their go, and as they all ran down the final stretch it seemed that the princess would win. All of a sudden Hay Lin jumped up and flew towards the finish line, narrowly making it into second place.

"Aw, come on Hay Lin! That's cheating!" Irma complained as she huffed over the finish line in last place.

"Aw, but flying is so much more fun than walking!" Hay Lin pouted as the others approached the winner.

"You were great Hay Lin. Don't listen to them!" Eric said as he pulled his girlfriend close in a friendly hug. Irma rolled her eyes and looked to her friend Martin.

"Ah well. This is so boring, waiting for the tributes to be called. I mean, it's great that we get off from school and all, but we all know none of us will be chosen." Irma said. Will and her boyfriend Matt had waved goodbye soon after the race had ended, Matt taking off on his huge black raven wings.

"And why is that, oh fearless warrior?" Cornelia said. Irma smirked and turned towards Elyon, who had been surprisingly silent this whole time.

"Because Queenie here will make sure none of us get picked, right?" the group looked to the downcast soon to be queen's face.

"Wait, you can't?" Taranee asked, horrified. The rest of the girls looked surprised also, but Elyon just shook her head.

"My brother says that we can't favorite any of our subjects, even if you guys have powers." Elyon said glumly. The group involuntarily jerked when the all too familiar alarm signaling the tributary selection was about to begin went off. Elyon's guards approached the group and they slowly dispersed towards Long Row, the town's unofficial town square.

"I'm going to go find my parents. Anyone want a lift?" the cheery air girl asked. Even though there was a chance she or one of her loved ones might be cast out into the forest for two tribes to war over, she still found it in herself to be as cheery as possible.

"I'll take a ride." Eric said as Hay Lin floated into the air and lifted him up as well. The two flew off to get a better look at the makeshift stage that had been set up hours before.

Long Row was actually a street that ran from the base of the castle to a gate on the wall opposite it. Like it's name suggested, it was extremely long and the shops that lined its sides were arranged in a perfect row. As of now, the street was full of spectators all waiting to know which of their fellow citizens they would never see again.

"People of Longridge! Welcome to another tributary selection! I know how you all dread this day, but believe me. This agreement is for the benefit of the majority of you." Phobos said from his podium. Elyon was sitting behind him surrounded by castle guards, gazing at the floor. The townspeople squinted in the afternoon sun to see what was going on.

"This year, Princess Elyon will draw the names of the two tributes. Elyon, if you will please." Phobos said. Elyon got up and approached the two bowls of names. She went to the female one first and drew the small piece of paper.

"Will you please read the name of this year's female tribute aloud for the crowd?" Phobos said, an evil smile on his face. Elyon raised an eyebrow at her brothers suspicious behavior before opening up the small paper with a small sigh.

"Bess Grumper will be the female tribute for this year." she said sadly. A sad cry was heard from the front of the crowd as Courtney Grumper clung to her sister. They were soon pried apart and Bess was led up to the stage, sobbing softly by unwavering guards.

"And now for the male tribute." Phobos said, reaching into the bowl before Elyon could do anything. Elyon looked confused for a moment before sitting back down.

"And the male tribute this year will be Eric Lyndon!" he said gleefully, staring right at Hay Lin and her boyfriend. She nearly dropped him from her position in the sky at first out of shock. She stayed afloat in the air, but after some coaxing from Eric she slowly floated down to the ground and released him. The guards roughly grabbed him and shoved Hay Lin away as he was lead to the stage. She ran crying in the opposite direction, as there was little room for her to take off again.

"Will the families of our two tributes please come to the stage to say their final goodbyes. The rest of you can go now." Phobos demanded. The crowd began to diverge as W.i.t.c., Matt and Martin ran through the crowd to try and find their distraught friend. Matt flew up over the crowd and spotted Hay Lin and her parents heading back to their restaurant.

"She's safe guys! Her parents got her." he called down. He flew back to Will, who looked confused.

"Did that really just happen?" she asked as Eric's parents were led sobbing from the stage, along with the parents of the Grumper sisters and Courtney, who was still sobbing hysterically.

"Yeah. I can't believe it either. Eric's gone... forever." Martin said sadly. Irma punched his arm lightly.

"We can't give up! We have to keep up hope- for Hay Lin and Eric's sake." she said. The rest of the group murmured in agreement, but as they all dispersed they could still hear the sorrowful cries of the Grumpers and Lyndons.

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_Two months later..._

"The female tribute will be Taranee Cook!" Phobos said into the microphone. Cries of anger erupted from the audience, but Phobos ignored them as Taranee was lead up to the stage by guards. She vaguely remembered seeing Cornelia up here a month ago, but with all the excitement afterwords she couldn't help but forget her blonde friend.

There had been blood, to say the least. Cornelia and Caleb had been the two tributes last month, and somehow Caleb had managed to smuggle a knife out with them. They had been met by vampires, and that was when the trouble began. This month there were some new rules in place- the tributes had to be checked and their wrists bound to prevent any more struggles.

"And our male tribute will be Nigel Ashcroft." Phobos said, although this time he wasn't as enthusiastic. He was obviously displeased that the paper didn't hold one of the remaining members of the groups names, but nonetheless he tossed the paper aside and approached the two tributes.

"Hope you've enjoyed your stay in Longridge. Have fun being fought over." he said, leaving the guards to take care of the rest. Elyon approached Taranee next.

"I'm sorry- I didn't think my brother would stoop this low." the princess admitted. "But... if you see Cornelia, would you tell her I'm sorry too?" Elyon said, the guilt plain in her eyes. Taranee sighed and nodded.

"I will. But you have to do something- don't let anyone else get taken. I don't think Hay Lin can take much more of this." Taranee said, glancing up at the flying teen. Her face was blank, and she stared at the stage for a moment longer before flying back towards her parents restaurant at top speed.

"I feel awful- she's confined to her home because of my brother." Elyon said. "But he's still my brother... I shouldn't hate him, right?" Elyon asked. Taranee bit her lip before shrugging. The princess hugged her friend one last time before leaving under the escort of many guards.

"Taranee! Oh, they're going to take my baby girl away from me!" Taranee's mother sobbed as he smothered the girl in a hug. Taranee's father and brother also joined in, separating only when one of the guards cleared his throat. There was one last tearful goodbye before Taranee and Nigel were put into the back of a van and their wrists tied in front of them. Taranee rolled her eyes. They should have at least used chains, she could burn right through these ropes!

"We will be arriving at the drop off point in about half an hour." said the driver of the van. "If you want to... Oh, your wrists are tied. I guess you can't write any letters. Well, if you want me to say anything to your families I'll try my best to remember what you say." he said, his voice genuine and full of pity.

"Thank you sir, but I'm good." Nigel said with a sigh. He looked to Taranee and managed a small smile.

"I'm Nigel. Sorry we had to meet like this." he said. Taranee gave a small laugh in return.

"I'm Taranee. It's a pleasure."

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"Hay Lin! Hay Lin is gone!" wailed the voice of Mrs. Lin throughout the restaurant. Will, Matt, Martin and Irma had all been enjoying their lunch while waiting for their friend to come down when Mrs. Lin had come running down in tears. The group of four quickly left whatever money they had on them and dashed out the door to find their friend.

"How did she get that bracelet off? It's supposed to shock her if she gets too far away!" Irma asked as they weaved through the people and towards the palace.

"I don't know, but we have to get Elyon to help us find her!" Will said. Matt jumped up over the crowd and flew in front of his friends.

"I'll get Elyon, you guys search for her around the city!" he shouted. The group split up and ran as they frantically tried to locate their missing friend.

Hay Lin was indeed not in the city. She was following the van that held Taranee and Nigel to try and free them. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do after that, but now was the time for action! She zipped through the trees alongside the road, keeping a close eye out for an opportunity to strike the van down.

Inside the van, Taranee and Nigel had been talking to each other for quite some time. Even though they had just met, Taranee felt as if she'd known Nigel her whole life.

"So you actually put the pickle juice in the cake?" she asked, stifling a giggle. Nigel nodded proudly.

"Yup. And just to throw my family off, I ate a piece too. They still don't know I did it." he joked. Taranee couldn't help but laugh out loud this time.

"So, I hate to get all serious and stuff, but which would you rather be? A vampire or a werewolf?" Nigel asked. Taranee thought for a moment.

"I think I'd rather be a werewolf. Vampires can't go into the sunlight- I don't think I could stand that." Taranee admitted. Being a fire wielder, the thought of never seeing the sun again made her upset. Mostly because she very well _could _become a vampire today.

"Hey, I didn't mean to upset you. We'll find a way to get back in time, alright?" he said, gripping her bound hands in his own. Taranee managed a smile, but she still felt hopeless.

"Hey lovebirds, hold onto something. There's a big bump in the road up ahead, and I don't want you injuring yourselves. You don't need anymore things holding you back if you want to get back to Longridge safely." said the driver. The two tributes complied and held on tightly to the seats in front of them. They felt the van go up the bump, and suddenly they were flying through the air!

"Aaah!" all three occupants of the vehicle screamed. The van rolled for a few feet before coming to a halt at the foot of a tree. Taranee and Nigel quickly kicked the broken back door of the van open and climbed through as best they could with tied up hands. The driver stumbled over to them and inspected the damage.

"What in the name of Kandrakar was that?" he asked. Taranee shrugged when a strong gust of wind blew the man off his feet. She looked to the source to see Hay Lin in a fighting stance, looking proud of herself.

"Hay Lin? What are you doing?" Taranee asked as the small Asian girl ran up and released her wrists.

"Saving you guys! I can't take it anymore- I'm going to give Phobos a piece of my mind!" she said, voice brimming with determination. She quickly untied Nigel's hands also.

"How did you escape anyway? I thought that bracelet was supposed to shock you whenever you left your house!" Taranee said as she rubbed her wrists.

"I was supposed to charge the battery at night, but I put in the spare every night instead. This one's dead!" Hay Lin said, pointing to the silver bangle on her wrist. The driver groaned and began to get up.

"Ugh, if we don't get them to the tribune drop off there will be war kid! This isn't helping anyone!" he yelled. Hay Lin blew him back down with another gust.

"Well then, I'll join them! Phobos needs to be stopped!" she said. Taranee sighed.

"Hay Lin, I agree with you, but-" Howls sounded from close by, causing them all to glance at the direction of the sound. More howling was heard, this time closer. Much too close.

"Quick! Stay together!" Hay Lin used the air to bring the truck driver closer to the group, and flew above them. She closed her eyes before thrusting her arms to her sides. The wind picked up sharply and began to swirl around them in a tornado. Hay Lin's ponytails and clothes whipped in the harsh wind she was creating. The humans on the ground grabbed onto each other to avoid being lifted into the dark vortex. They could vaguely see dark shapes through it, circling them like hawks.

"We're going to die!" The truck driver whimpered.

Meanwhile, Matt had reached Elyon in the castle, and was explaining the details to her when Phobos walked in.

"Well, this problem will have to be taken care of immediately. Elyon, you locate her and I'll set off her bracelet.

"Wait, what do you mean set it off? Obviously if she's outside the city she found a way to disable her bracelet." Matt said. Phobos grinned.

"Yes, but there is a fail safe battery in the bracelet that no one knows about." Phobos grinned and teletransported away. Elyon sighed and closed her eyes in concentration. After about a minute, she spoke.

"She's with Taranee, Nigel and the driver of the van they were in. They're surrounded by werewolves." she said. Without opening her eyes, she pressed her hand to Matt's head to show him what was happening.

Hay Lin was still keeping up the tornado, but the wolves didn't seem to be showing any signs of leaving soon. She tried to appear fine, but as she began to slowly float downwards and the tornado began to shrink it was evident that she wasn't going to last much longer.

"Hay Lin, give it up! You're going to exhaust yourself!" Taranee shouted up. Hay Lin seemed to have heard her, but instead of giving up, she floated up again and made the tornado dissipate. The now visible figures were shaped like humans, but were covered in fur and had wolf like features. The werewolves lunged at Nigel and the others, but Hay Lin yelled and sent a tremendous amount of air down at them. Those unfortunate enough to get caught in the blast were sent flying into the trees. But there were still many more surrounding them.

"Uh, Hay Lin, I think maybe we should start heading towards Longridge now!" Nigel said.

"Wait, I have an idea! Get into the van." she ordered. As Hay Lin created a path for them, the three on the ground climbed back into the van and shut the door. They heard the wind whipping around them and suddenly the feeling of weightlessness took hold of the vehicle. Hay Lin had lifted the van and was now flying towards Longridge!

"Go Hay Lin!" Nigel shouted, looking out the window at the flying girl. She grinned and gave him a thumbs up. All of a sudden they were dropping, and Hay Lin's pained screams were heard. They stabilized for a moment and the screams stopped before the van was sent flying forward at an insane speed. Taranee glanced out the front window and braced for impact with the incoming treetops. It was much less rough than she expected, and the three in the van quickly jumped down and glanced back at what was happening.

Hay Lin and the werewolves were nowhere in sight, although the wind girl's cries were still audible in the distance. Nigel looked away from the origin of the sounds and fought the urge to yelp.

"Uh, guys. We have a new problem..." He whimpered. Taranee turned around and saw two people she never thought she'd see again.

"C-Cornelia? Caleb?" Taranee choked out. The blonde grinned and she and her boyfriend lunged at them, fangs bared.

Elyon quickly changed so that she and Matt were viewing Hay Lin instead. As much as she missed Cornelia, she really didn't want to see her friends get turned into vampires by her. She was shocked to see Hay Lin twitching and rolling on the ground, and from the electricity sparking off of her every once and a while she assumed she was being electrocuted. Hay Lin was trying to tear her bracelet off her wrist, but her attempts slowly became more feeble and she stopped twitching, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. She lay in the fetal position and the electricity stopped. One of the wolves rushed forward and picked her up in his arms before shrinking into a human. And not just any human.

"Hay Lin, wake up. Please, please wake up." Eric begged. He was holding her bridal style, shaking her roughly. The rest of the wolves began shrinking into humans, and a man in his mid thirties stepped towards him.

"We will take her with us, but you know what we will have to do with her." Eric growled when the man put his hand on his shoulder.

"You may be leader of the pack, but I swear if you so much as look at her the wrong way..." he trailed off, leaving his threat in the air.

"I promise I will not harm her. But if she lives, you will be the one to turn her then." Eric nodded and followed his pack further into the forest.

Elyon took her hand from Matt's head and opened her eyes. Will, Irma and Martin were all waiting patiently in the room, and they quickly gathered around the princess to hear the news once they saw she was awake.

"Hay Lin's been taken by the werewolves." Elyon said gravely. Irma sobbed and hugged Martin, who did his best to comfort her.

"What do we do now?" Will asked.

"I don't know." Matt said, glancing out the window. "I just don't know."

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So, whatcha think? Is it confusing? Is it good? Leave me a review, would ya? :3


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